Reflections on hiring our first apprentice six months in for National Apprenticeship week 14-18 March

National Apprenticeship Week 2016

We knew we needed an extra pair of hands in the office, but the costs of hiring and paying an in-demand PHP developer were prohibitive for us last year. That being said the costs in time searching for the right young person to join us would also add up. When we heard about the work that Creative North did placing the right candidates in mutually beneficial roles with companies like ours, we were keen to hear more how the process worked.

Frazer joined Cloud Data Service in October 2015 and has been one of the best appointments that the company have ever taken on. He’s personable and approachable, and is able to communicate at all levels; although all his colleagues are unmistakably Generation Y (!) he’s fitted in right alongside the team, defining for the rest of the office what it is to be an apprentice in the 21st century through his work ethic and confident demeanour. He also hit the ground running when it came to work too, within two months he had a sufficient grasp of development technology to take on client work for us.

Thomas Lloyd, Director adds, “I’ve never employed an apprentice before. I’ve also never employed someone who was starting with their knowledge of web development at absolutely zero. For that reason, I was nervous taking Frazer on. I was worried it would take up too much our time in support him and that would be 6 months to a year before he could work independently. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Frazer is now an integral member of staff and regularly contributes a great deal in day to day tasks. I hope we can all continue to grow together, as a business, and both personally and professionally.”

Hiring an apprentice has been a really great way of expanding the business within our limited budget. We will definitely consider taking on more, (without hesitation this time!) when we are next in the position to do so.